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July 30, 2013

Top 10 Corporate Cash Donors to Charity in 2012

Corporate America’s charitable donations grew modestly, may slow this year

Cash gifts to charity from America’s biggest companies grew by 2.7% last year to $5.3 billion, according to a new survey by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Although the 106 companies that provided two years’ worth of data expected donations to increase modestly for the third consecutive year in 2013, growth will likely be slower for many companies, the survey found.

More than 75% of corporate leaders said their giving budgets would be about the same this year. About 16% said their companies would donate more, and 6% said they would give less.

Businesses awarded a median of 0.8% of their 2011 pretax profits to charity in 2012. In the previous six years, the percentage of profits going to charities varied from 1% to 1.4%.

Other findings:

The median cash amount given in 2012 was $25 million

Fourteen companies donated more than $100 million

Donations of products continue to grow much faster than gifts of cash; when both are counted, overall corporate giving rose by 20.2% in 2012 to $18.6 billion

Pfizer held the top spot for the fourth year in a row, giving $3.1 billion in cash and products.

The Chronicle said its studylooked at the nation’s largest companies, but noted that small and midsize corporations may be expanding their giving budgets more quickly.

Here are the 10 companies that gave the most cash in 2012:

10. Citigroup

How much it gave: $137 million

Share of 2011 pretax profits donated in 2012: 0.9%

Forecast for 2013: Expects to give the same

9. Target Corp.

How much it gave: $147 million (plus $77 million—products)

Share of 2011 pretax profits donated in 2012: 5%

Forecast for 2013: Declined to provide

8. GE

How much it gave: $161.5 million

Share of 2011 pretax profits donated in 2012: 0.8%

Forecast for 2013: Expects to give the same

7. JPMorgan Chase

How much it gave: $183.5 million

Share of 2011 pretax profits donated in 2012: 0.7%

Forecast for 2013: Expects to give more

6. Bank of America

How much it gave: $222.9 million

Share of 2011 pretax profits donated in 2012: The company lost money in 2011, so this figure could not be calculated

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